A major investigation into devastating winter floods warns that Wales must prepare its coastal defences ahead of future forecast extreme weather events.

The Welsh Government provided more than £10m to help badly-hit communities recover from winter storms which lashed the coastline.

But a detailed study by the environmental body Natural Resources Wales concluded that the resilience of the defences to recover must be further improved.

An earlier report this year to assess the damage caused by the worst storms for decades, showed that for the vast majority of the Welsh coastline, the defences and the emergency response performed well.

Aberystwyth’s historic promenade was pounded by waves, requiring major repairs ahead of the tourist season, as did the Wales Coastal Path.

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Jeremy Parr, head of flooding at the NRW said: “The storms last winter provided a reminder of the damage they can cause to our communities, our economy and wildlife.

“These kinds of events do not happen often, but when they do the impact can be significant.

“Whilst we coped well this time, climate change predictions indicate we are likely to see more weather like this in the future.”

He hoped the recommendations would help agencies, authorities and communities at risk to be even better prepared for when it happens again.

“We need to increase Wales’ resilience to coastal flooding and be ready to respond to the challenges it brings, to keep our communities safe.”

Alun Davies, Minister for Natural Resources and Food, said: “I am determined to ensure that Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales and local authorities continue to work closely together to build a more resilient coastline for Wales and the findings of this report will be vital in helping us to achieve this.”

The Welsh Government provided more than £10m to affected communities, including £7.2m to repair damaged flood defences, £2.3m to support repair works to tourism and business, and a further £855,000 to repair damaged sections of the Wales Coast Path and provide extra regeneration funding to Aberystwyth.

The report calls for ‘sustained investment in coastal risk management’ and flood forecasting, warning, response and recovery alongside investment in new flood defences and to maintain existing ones.

There needed to be ‘more certainty on budgets for flood risk management over a longer term’ and ‘greater clarity of roles and responsibilities of agencies and authorities’.

Communities would need to be ‘more self-sufficient’ in the future to respond to flood warnings..

Hundreds of homes were evacuated along the North Wales coast as roads were turned into rivers.

Increasingly, the last line of defence against these extreme forces of nature is to get out of the way, repair the damage to property and count the cost.

The entire coastline of Wales felt the impacts of the storms with an estimated 140 properties and 80 caravans flooded.

Simply maintaining the existing defences will treble in cost by 2035 – around £135m a year at 2010 prices.

Conwy and Gwynedd top the table for areas with the most people in properties at significant risk from flooding at around 17,000.

Ceredigion AM Elin Jones said: “The Welsh Government needs to act swiftly on the recommendations of this report, and tell us how they are to be implemented.”

Plaid Cymru called for a new National Flood Forum for Wales to bring members of the community together.

William Powell, Welsh Lib Dem environment spokesperson said: “I call on the Welsh Government to provide sufficient funding to local authorities and Natural Resources Wales to ensure that they are able to properly respond to future flooding threats.”

Russell George Montgomeryshire AM, Tory shadow environment minister said: “The courage and determination of community volunteers was a credit to our communities and Ministers should examine whether there could be a more formal role for trained volunteers to assist in civil emergencies.

“Any future response to flooding is more joined up with improved channels of communication between the various organisations and greater clarity about their roles.”